OAKLAND – The Warriors used a barrage of threes and dunks to dismantle the Lakers at home en route to a 149-106 victory at home Wednesday night.
It only took the defending Western Conference champs a mere two-and-a-half quarters to record 30 assists for a franchise record ninth straight game. They ended the contest with 47 dimes on the night.
The last time the Warriors and Lakers matched up in Los Angeles this season, Steph Curry failed to record a made three pointer for the first time in 157 straight games, going 0-10 from deep. Wednesday’s game was a wildly different affair as Curry drained a 26-footer within the first two minutes of the opening tip, finishing the game with 31 points, going 7-12 from deep.
As Curry went, so did the Warriors in this one. Steph had 15 points on four threes by the end of the first quarter and the Warriors’ 41-26 lead at that time foreshadowed perfectly what type of offensive show the Oracle crowd was about to witness. 148 points, 47 assists, and even a plus-11 rebounding margin later, it was easily the Warriors’ best offensive performance of the young season.
Kevin Durant did what he’s done all but one time this season, scoring more than 20-points with a 28-point night of his own and upping his team-leading season average at 27-points-per-game. He also chipped in a humble six boards and five assists.
Offseason pickup and Oracle-crowd favorite Javale McGee had another efficient night off the bench with eight points and four rebounds in a mere nine minutes. He was also the recipient of two rim-shaking alley oops from Draymond Green in the second quarter that brought down the house.
The Lakers never really had a chance from the jump in their head coach’s first game back on the sidelines at his former home arena. Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson did their parts on the offensive end, combining for 32 points off the bench. After hanging 106 points on Golden State, however, Walton and company will point to the defensive end as the bane of their struggles in Oakland, not their offensive output.
If you enjoyed Wednesday night’s affair in Oakland, you won’t have to wait long for another rematch as the Lakers and Warriors will play again Friday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for their third meeting of the season.